something from my sketchbook

i start working on my new collection. recently i took out my old sketchbook and decided to give a life to some ideas i sketched from time to time. well, some of them i really like... here is my first one - upside down bag

about creativity and the old shoes

my blog was neglected for some time, but it doesn't mean i forgot about it. i was creating ...

i love making unique things with my hands. i want to show them and tell how i was making them

there are so many ideas and so little time to realize them :(
so for now i am working in two directions. . one is natural. everything i make in that direction is about nature, natural shapes and materials. i call it "earthy collection" and some of the items can also be seen at BeadSeedAndTwine.etsy.com

in another direction i just started working. it is about old things that i try to give a second life, not just that. i want to give them new and quiet a different life. i believe in many lives for live beings. why not to give the chance to things ?
have a look and decide for yourself
you can find some of the revived stuff at OldStuffNewLife.etsy.com

today i want tell you how i started with the old stuff revival idea

once upon a time there were old shoes. they were worn out, faded away, wrinkled and with grease and paint spots, but ... loved

i decided to give them new life

i loved their anatomic shape and they were worn a lot and become kinda very foot shaped. that is how i come up with idea of feet drawing. oh, yes, the color too

old and tired:


revived:

mad artists series - nutmeg

i am proudly presenting the first mad artist in "mad artists series". her name is nutmeg.

here are her crazy answers to my crazy questions:

1.how have you gone insane? ( how did you start creating?)
My earliest memories of childhood are of glorious afternoons spent creating - the feel and smell of paint and the personalities I assigned to different colors as I worked with them. My papa was one of the original punk rock musicians and took me on tour with him sometimes in Europe, and thus my love for music, art, and travel was born. These days (when I'm not acting as a purveyor of exotic kitsch) my passion is for avant-garde art and installation.

2.how do you feed the inner monster or darling ? (what keeps your creative energy alive?)
I was born directly on the cusp of Pisces and Aries, and for those of you who are into astrology, that means I have an exigent need to seek out and create new things. I'm never content to simply look at something - I always wonder what I could DO with it. Travel, of course, is an ever-unfolding spring of inspiration, and I also draw heavily upon dream imagery in much of my work.

3.when is the highest peak of your craziness: morning, day, evening, night ? ( when is the peak of your creativity?)
I'm always at my best in the wee hours, and love working in a frenzy while the city sleeps, then basking in the beautiful, crisp morning before I go to bed.

4.what drives you mad?
I'm simply wild about German philosophy and French films! I love music, too, especially that of the pipe-organ and harpsichord (which is good, as Mr. Nutmeg is a classical pipe organist). One of my favorite things in the great large universe is urban decay and the accidental art that comes from peeling paint and suchlike.

5.who is your favorite mad artist?
I adore all of the Dadaists and early Surrealists, and have an especial fondness for Man Ray and Tristan Tzara. I also love the work of Hieronymus Bosch , as well as Henry Darger, a recluse whose entire life was spent creating whimsical illustrations on the walls of his apartment to go along with the novel he wrote about the epic battles of little winged girls.

6.what is your craziest (favorite) creation?
One summer, I spent all of my time making papier-mache masks of fanciful, invented deities. They still hang on my mum's wall.

and finally my choice of the most weird piece of nutmeg!


go insane with her at nutmegclick.etsy.com !

i was on the etsy front page!

i did it! urraa!
i was on the etsy front page. thanks to my favorite material - jute. through search term "jute" my necklace was found and placed on the front page.

here is definition from dictionary:

jute [uncountable] - a natural substance that is used for making rope and rough cloth.

i have to say, not only... not only can be used for making rope and rough cloth. a lot of wonderful and beautiful (not at all rough! ) things can be made out of this awesome material.

it is very a flexible material, it can be both rustic and contemporary. i just love it!

here is that same front page:

about artists... mad artists

are you interested in crazy, mad, weird, silly? art?
i was always extremely curious about what inspired artist to create this and that kind of unusual and insane things.

let's talk about it! or better let artists talk what makes them to make crazy things.
in this blog i want to feature artists who create strange, unusual things or have created just once.

i made a list of questions for artists to answer ( hope crazy enough :))

1.how have you gone insane? ( how did you start to create?)
2.how do you feed the inner monster ( alternative: darling or any)? (what keeps your creative energy alive?)
3.when is the highest peak of your craziness ( morning, day, evening, night) ? ( when is the peak of your creativity?)
4.what drives you mad?
5.who is your favorite mad artist?
6.what is your craziest (favorite) creation?
7. could you name any other crazy artist on etsy.com? (optional)

my first posting

i'll try to keep the blog creative.. well, in my own way

i will write about creative process, creative people and anything that can awaken creativity - places, nature, culture, objects... people again

i came to california few months ago and its exotic nature (to me) inspired me to start making my own jewelry. and as i can see i was not the only one person amazed by all these local beauties. yesterday i came across a magic place hidden in one of the parks.





niki de saint phalle created this magic path called queen califia's magic circle. she is one of amazing female artists and she did live and created in san diego!

for those happy who would meet niki de saint phalle's art for the first time:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niki_de_Saint_Phalle